money.co.uk comment: budgeting in 2020

Salman Haqqi, personal finance expert at money.co.uk, said: "Your biggest win in 2020 will be to make a budget and track it. Knowing what you've got coming in and going out each month is key to getting your finances in order.

"With Open Banking you can use third party mobile phone apps such as Yolt or Tandem that track your spending and send you a notification every time you use our debit or credit card, helping you stick to your budget.

"Quite simply, if you're spending more than you're earning then you have a problem. The good thing is once you've worked this out you can do something about it.

"Give yourself a pay rise by scheduling time each week to look at your finances. Make sure you're switching to credit cards, savings accounts and providers for gas, electricity and insurance that cost you less on a regular basis.

"Set reminders in your diary for all the services you use to prompt yourself to shop around a week before they come to an end. It's really important to avoid the dreaded 'auto-renewal' which will almost always cost you more.

"Keep an eye on your direct debits too - make sure you aren't being charged for services you no longer use. Also, make sure you are getting value from everything you subscribe to, from Netflix to the gym, Amazon Prime, Spotify and HelloFresh. Work out each month if you are getting enough value out of the services to justify the spend and if not, be ruthless and cut them from your outgoings.

"Use the money.co.uk Budgeting Guides series here and take better control of your money in 2020."

Press@money.co.uk